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Small Wind Turbines are a Reliable, Proven,
Widely-Used Mature Technology for Remote Site Power. |
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Wind Resources Sufficient for Small Wind
Turbines are Available at Most Locations. |
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Energy Costs from Small Wind Turbines are Much
Less than Photovoltaics and Usually Less than Diesel Generators. |
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Complete Support, from Design to Installation,
is Available from Industry |
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Created by Uneven Solar Heating |
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Wind Energy is Kinetic Energy ... Mass &
Momentum |
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Wind Energy is Proportional to Velocity Cubed (V3)
... If Velocity is Doubled, Power Increases by a Factor of Eight (23
= 8) ... Small Differences in Average Speed Cause Big Differences in Energy
Production |
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Wind Resources are Abundant and Distributed ...
Most Areas Have Sufficient Wind for Off-Grid Power Applications |
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Wind Resource Maps Published by US-DOE |
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Wind is Intermittent |
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Large
(100 - 800 kW) Turbines
Installed in Windfarm Arrays Totaling 1 - 100
MW
Provides Low Cost, Secure,
Non- Polluting, Non-Dispatchable Power to the Utility
Grid
$1,000/kW; Designed for Low
Cost of Energy
Requires 6 m/s (13 mph)
Average Sites |
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Small
(0.25 - 50 kW) Turbines
Installed in Off-Grid and Facility- Specific
On-Grid Applications
Provides Firm Power Using
Storage and Back-up Generation
$3,000/kW;
Designed for Reliability / Low Maintenance
Requires 4 m/s (9 mph)
Average Sites |
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Characteristic Wind Diesel |
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Capital Cost High Low |
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Operating Cost Low High |
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Maintenance Requirements Low High |
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Available On-Demand No Yes |
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Notes